ID Card - amazingly quick update.

I thought it might be days, but here I am less than four hours later updating The ID Card Saga.

The speed and efficiency of the internet. Dubai style.

I tell you what. It's a struggle.

I got into the Emirates Identity Authority website and less than four hours later I've registered, have my application number and a bar code. I'm told to present myself, my documents and the barcode printout at one of the EIDA offices.

There may be a small problem though. My application is based on a form which ignored what I entered and instead put answers it came up with by itself, several being totally different from my entries.

For example, it decided I work for the Dubai International Financial Centre. I do not. I did not enter that on the form. But it wouldn't change to what I wanted to enter.

When I go in person to the office I guess I'll find out whether the incorrect information will invalidate the application.

I've been told other people have had the same problem. Female being changed to Male was one example.

I'll let you know what happens at the next stage.



Apart from that you may like to know how interfacing with the EIDA through the magic of the e-world is.

As I said, it's a struggle. Apart from ignoring what you type in it takes half an hour or more to move to the next page, and things don't appear as they should.

For example, it asks which Emirate you live in, you click Dubai on the dropdown menu. Next is City, then Zone but neither will move from the Abu Dhabi dropdown default menu. So you're registered as living in the emirate of Dubai but in an area of Abu Dhabi.

I pressed on regardless and after two and a half hours I got to the end, clicked to Print. The form came up for final checking and approval and it contained too much information different from that which I'd entered.

I thought I'd better cancel and start again.

Second time was a bit quicker, both for pages to load and because I knew my way around it a bit better.

There's some mysterious stuff. Mandatory is Middle Name. I don't have one, but it won't let you past if you leave it blank. There's a dropdown demanding "Please type the father name'. I typed my father's name...and now on my application confirmation I am known by my first name and my father's, but with no family name.

Apparently optional, strange information is asked for. For example after First Name, Middle Name, Family Name it asks for Other Names. And Famous Name.

Something lost in the translation or a basic lack of communicating what they want maybe?

For the delivery address you can put in Dubai for emirate...but again the dropdown menu for City and Zone defaults to Abu Dhabi, they won't move to Dubai.

There were location inaccuracies and some fictitious answers entered by the website but I'd lost patience by then and just printed it.

I'll attempt to get to an office to finalise it next week.